Am I a sadist? You'll find out.


"Now, let's look at the spawn sites."

Mipha came forward with several reports. "These all came in during breakfast. That's why I left early, to review them, but . . ."

Zelda took them with a nod of thanks. She flipped through them quickly, her tongue between her teeth. Ikana Canyon in Termina, the Black Tower in Labrynna, Samasa Desert in Holodrum, Forsaken Fortress in Waker, and the old Palace of Twilight.

She snorted softly. At least that one was no surprise. But there was one missing. "Hilda, where did the monsters come from in Lorule?"

The Queen lifted her head, red eyes attentive. "I'm not too sure of an exact location, but it was from the north. They came from behind."

"Perhaps it was the canyons," Link offered. "There are several chasms in there, and hardly anyone lives in the canyons to begin with."

"That's one thing they all share," Ravio added. "Every place the monsters showed up, they were either abandoned or unremarkable enough that no one would even consider them."

"But what about the Black Tower?" Laruto asked. "During the Era of Ages, the Tower was a symbol of evil power rising."

"So it's either a forgotten place, or one associated with past evils?" Zelda murmured. "In any case, we at least know where they came from. How are the nations faring?"

Silence met her question. She looked up to find her makeshift council exchanging glances. "We've yet to receive word from many nations," Mipha admitted. "We have suspicions that they haven't had time to send hawks, but . . ."

"Every moment we spend in the dark allows Ganondorf to gain a stronger foothold," Link said fiercely, leaning on the table. "Haven't we the resources to send messages of our own? At least to warn them?"

"Don't you think we've already done that?" Mipha snapped back, her usual poise gone. "We're not stupid, Link. But--"

"Whether we send messages or not isn't the point," Zelda interrupted. "Hawks can be shot down. We got lucky with Lorule." She glanced at Hilda and Ravio with a fleeting smile. "But Ganondorf will have learned from that mistake. He won't allow us to get a step ahead of him."

"But we are," a new voice said. All eyes turned to Tetra. "We already are a step ahead, don't you see? We know he's targeting every nation--we've already seen it. From the reports we have, at least three nations have fallen: Lorule, Labrynna, and, technically speaking, Hyrule. Waker still stands, simply because of the scattered people and the distances. Termina has lasted because of its size, and monsters are slow to boot. The distances between lands will slow them further. We still have time to warn them before it's too late."

As if her words were a herald, a page sprinted into the room. A note was crumpled in his fist.

"A message from Mayor Dotour! Termina is under attack!"

"Then let's go."

Zelda grabbed her sword from where she'd let it rest against the table leg. "I won't allow him to take another nation from us," she told her council, who watched her with wide eyes. "If there's a chance to save my people, I sure as hell will not sit in a room and wait for them to be slaughtered."

Link stood with her. "You're not leaving me," he said quietly, and Zelda forced a smile. "Never."

Dark approached, outfitted with a black uniform not unlike Zelda and Link's and a sword. Link immediately shook his head. "I just got you back," he said firmly, railroading right over whatever Dark meant to say. "You're not coming. Besides, I need you to stay here and watch over the Domain."

Dark looked like he wanted to argue, but he bit his lip and nodded, stepping back.

"Then I'm coming too."

They turned to see Mipha standing. Ruto stared at her, face whiter than usual. "Mipha--"

"Our sister is still in Great Bay," Mipha said, tucking a lock of Ruto's hair behind her ear with the gentleness and care of an older sister. "As the oldest, it's my responsibility to make sure she's all right."

"If it's by that reasoning, then I believe it's my job."

Zelda's heart plummeted. Laruto smiled softly at the expression on her face, on her daughters' faces. She put her hands on their shoulders. "You two must stay," she said. "There must always be a Zora in the Domains. If I should not make it, for whatever reason, you three will carry on. Take care of each other."

She kissed their foreheads; as she turned away, Mipha blinked hard, glittering drops falling from her eyes. She and Ruto clutched each other's hands, and Zelda swallowed against a tight throat.

Link's hands clenched. "Laruto--"

"As my other son, I should expect you to protect them," the Queen added, cupping his cheek. "Now let's go. I don't plan on dying just yet."


In the end, there was no saying no to Laruto.

They rode hard along the coast. To the right, over the waters, the dawn faded into early morning. Ahead, to the east, the sun shone over the faraway Ikana Canyon.

Ikana. How far have the monsters advanced, Zelda wondered? The twisty mountain paths would hold them back, for sure, but only for so long. Hopefully they could get there before Clock Town was struck. Besides, it took at least a few hours for the message to have reached them in the Domain. That was a few hours that the monsters had ahead of Zelda.

She swallowed and pushed Sanidin. She felt bad, pushing him so hard so often, but . . . he was a stallion. He was bred for long, hard rides. For battle. She just hoped he could handle whatever they might face in Termina.

Beside her, Laruto rode her own horse like a professional. Her dark hair streamed behind her in the wind, her face calm and focused. Zelda faced forward again, where Link and Ilayen rode. Tetra had been against his leaving, but even she couldn't keep him cooped up forever.

"It's my empire too," he'd argued, gently but firmly. "I won't sit by and let it be torn to pieces--not if I can help save it."

Zelda kept her eyes on him, on his bowed head, the tense set of his shoulders. She remembered what she'd seen, just as they were leaving.

He'd leaned closer to Tetra, laying his forehead to hers. His words were inaudible, but she knew what she'd seen when he'd laid his hand over Tetra's stomach. When she'd laid her own on top.

That had been a shock, but they didn't have time to wonder, and he'd given no opportunity for questions.

Now, his head raised. "Look to the east!" he shouted, pointing. "Smoke on the horizon!"

Zelda's stomach dropped as she saw it: a plume of black smoke, rising high into the sky. That was . . . towards Clock Town!

Her mind whirled, and she dug her spurs into Sanidin's sides. He whinnied, a warning, but put on a burst of speed. How? How can they have reached the capitol already? Could a few hours have made that much difference?

After what had happened in Hyrule, she knew the answer.

It felt like ages, but it was around early afternoon when they finally reached the Bridge of the Hero. Thick woodland abounded for a couple miles, then thinned out into Termina Field. The trees flew past Zelda, a wide-reaching branch slicing her cheek with its needles as she passed.

Blood slipped down her face, but she paid it no mind. Not when she could already hear screaming.

Heart leaping into her throat, trying desperately to ignore the words in her head, she broke from the trees and hurtled across the fields, her eyes widening.


It . . . it was a massacre.

People fled everywhere, screams rending the air. Monsters stalked them: bokoblins with their spiked clubs, Lizalfos and their horrid boomerangs, moblins swinging massive swords. As she watched, a group of three bokoblins leapt on a young woman, burying her under their clubs. Her screams ended abruptly as blood flew, splattering the ground.

Zelda pulled Sanidin to a halt. "Help whoever you can!" she shouted, already swinging her blade at an approaching Lizalfos. Snarling, she parried its attack and slashed, opening its throat. Kicking Sanidin into motion again, she rode through the battlefield, hacking and cutting at any monster she saw. Red filled her vision, though whether it was from the blood that spewed onto her, or from the rage that fueled her already aching arms, she couldn't tell.

Nor could she tell how long it had been; as she wheeled Sanidin around, who'd handled the battle awfully well so far, a shadow fell over her. She just barely met the swing, though her arm was forced down. Sanidin jerked forward, just avoiding an injury to his flank, and as he turned, Zelda caught sight of the monster.

The moblin stood easily as tall as her on her horse; had she been on the ground, she would have reached its knees, if that. She raised her arm, but it was weak from the last attack, and she knew the moblin's strength was far greater than her own.

She ground her teeth as the moblin roared, lumbering forward. Her mind raced. It's slow for its size, but it has a longer reach.

She looked around wildly, riding Sanidin in a wide circle around the moblin. Maybe if she could disorient it--but no; the monster kept its eyes on her, its purple tongue lolling from its mouth. Finally, as she made another pass, she spotted it.

Ducking under the moblin's swing, she yanked the spear from the body of a Terminan soldier and swung the point around. Sanidin reared a bit before lurching forward, and Zelda's breath scorched her throat as she leaned to the side, thrusting forward at the same time.

The moblin roared again, holding the spear with one clawed hand. It yanked on the shaft, hauling Zelda right out of the saddle. She fell to the ground, a scream bursting out of her. M-my ribs . . . !

Gasping for breath, she barely avoided getting skewered. She rolled, dirt spraying as the tip of the spear embedded itself into the ground. Her legs were weak, her ears rang, and she could hardly breathe; it was all she could do to keep rolling, but eventually the moblin would learn. She remembered what Link had said about them--how they were more intelligent than bokoblins or Lizalfos.

I'm just glad it's not a Lynel, she thought, struggling to her feet. She had to dash to the side, the wind of the moblin's attack stirring her hair. Clutching her ribs, she swallowed the blood in her mouth.

I'll have to go for the head.

Spotting a glint of metal, she ran for it, rolling aside to avoid the second lunge. Grasping the spear was easy enough, but prying the shield from the soldier's hand took precious time. Once she had it out, she had to raise it immediately to block the moblin's strike.

Now she was doubly screwed. The moblin had both a sword and a spear. But it was lacking in defense, and it was weakened. Blood leaked from the wound in its chest.

She'd have liked to go for the head, as was her plan, but without Sanidin's extra height, she'd be hard pressed to reach that high. But if she could land a hit in the same wound she'd dealt the moblin before, she might be able to get it on its knees. Or at least weaken it enough to deliver a final blow.

Zelda stood, shield in hand. She circled the moblin, dancing back every time it jabbed with her spear. Come on, come on . . .

There! It swung with the sword; the moment it came into contact with the shield, Zelda swung the metal plate wide, knocking the blow off-kilter. The moblin stumbled back, arms waving, and she lunged, slamming the spear right through the first wound.

The moblin roared, making her ears ring more, and it fell to its knees. Now! She leapt forward and, taking the spear in both hands, drove it into the crown of its head.

The body spasmed beneath her, black blood spurting from the wound, until finally, it went still. Zelda stood back, utterly exhausted, but knowing she couldn't rest. She managed a single breath before another monster rushed her, and it began anew.

She didn't know how long she fought, but it must have been hours. The sun had set, and dusk was fading to nightfall. Around her, the battle still raged, but slower than before. The monsters clearly hadn't expected retaliation, and Link was a whirlwind of death. Blood slid from dozens of wounds, but his snarl never faded, even as he suffered a gash in his leg.

Ilayen fared much the same, and across the field, Laruto herded the survivors into the woods. Spotting them, Ilayen hurried over to provide cover, limping heavily. Zelda rushed to where Link cut down a screeching bokoblin, silencing it forever.

He wiped his face, smearing blood across his cheek. "We have to hurry," he shouted. "We don't have the men to keep this up."

"What about the city?" Zelda ducked a wide swing and sliced the Lizalfos's back, stabbing it in the head. "We can't abandon them--"

A great screech cut her off, and as she looked to the city, she saw an orange glow explode where she knew the square to be. Slowly, as if giving her time to accept what she was seeing, and with a noise like the felling of a thousand trees, the Clock Tower collapsed.

Screams from within the city sounded, and were sharply cut off as the Tower exploded.

Great plumes of black smoke and red fire filled the sky. A hand grasped her elbow, tugging her away. Behind, she could faintly hear Laruto shouting her name. "Zelda, come on!" Link yanked on her again; numb, she stumbled back.

He whirled her around, his words silent. Zelda stared at him, her breath loud in her ears. All . . . all those people . . .

It took her a moment to realize she'd spoken aloud. "Th--they're still in there," she said again. Her breath came faster, and she tried to pull away from him. "I have to help them, they're--"

"They're dead!" Link roared, and only now did she register the tears in his eyes. "But there are still those you can save! The Domain, Zelda!"

The words felt like a physical slap; she blinked, breathing out sharply. A high whinny made her whirl around, finding Sanidin approach, his hooves throwing up dirt as he came to a stop at her side, his eyes white around the edges.

She shook her head, leaping into the saddle. The Domain. Lulu. We can still save them.

Please, let me save them, at least.


The monsters burned the Bridge of the Hero.

Zelda had heard a crack and looked back in time to see those behind her slide to a halt, their eyes wide and wild with fear. Flames sprung up behind them, urged on by the wind. Just a few feet away, a young girl screamed, hauling on her sister's hand. She flew backward as flaming arrows slammed into the dry, wood planking.

"No! ROMANI!"

She screamed again, and only Link's arm around her waist kept her from diving into the fire. They fell to the ground amid the bloodcurdling sounds of those on the bridge. Behind the wall of fire, fueled still by the driving wind, the girl's sister could be heard, crying her name.

Link stared, the flames illuminating the tears on his face, as the girl crawled on the ground, her sobs tearing holes right through Zelda's heart. The sound was pure agony, almost animal, as she listened to her sister burn alive.

Zelda leapt from her horse and grabbed the girl's arm, holding her ears with her other hand. Her vision blurred. The girl didn't put up a fight, her voice hoarse as she gasped her sister's name, over and over. "Help me," Zelda begged Link.

He stared at her, and she knew he was seeing another pair of siblings, one golden, one dark. Imagining losing his brother the way this girl had lost her sister.

"Please, get up," she whispered.

He blinked, and did so on trembling legs. He took the girl's arm and hauled her along, having lent his horse to someone else. They stumbled backwards, staring tear-streaked, trying and failing to shut out the sounds of the bridge creaking, of splintering and screeching wood, of the slow, thunderous sound of the bridge finally collapsing.

Zelda trembled as she turned her back on it, pulling herself into the saddle and rode through the woods, turning along the curve of the river's bank. Night had fallen fully, giving a new, hellish view to the flames behind. The fire had spread.

Along the coast, she looked towards the sea and found it dotted with dark figures. Dread filled her gut; more monsters? But no--these motions were too frantic, and voices reached her from those already nearing the bank.

Further down, where the river opened into the Ocean, the coast was crawling with people. Laruto had drawn ahead of the bridge collapse, desperate for news of the Domain. There was no way to reach it over land, not with the monsters covering every inch from the Town to Ikana. So they'd come to the coast.

Zelda dismounted and dove into the fray, pulling ashen people from their boats. Some had swam there, and from the floating bodies further out, stuck with arrows, not all had made it.

Somehow, the noise here was even worse than in the woods, or the fields. Terminans filled the air with calls for loved ones, groans of pain, screams of fear; some had simply collapsed on the shores, tears streaking silently down their faces. But through the noise, one voice could be heard.

Laruto screamed for Lulu, searching every face, her pantsuit filthy, her face streaked with mud and blood and ash. "Lulu!"

She staggered to the coast and nearly fell, mud splattering her face.

Zelda stumbled to her side, staring across the great expanse of water. "Goddesses . . ."

Laruto cried silently, her eyes fixed on the plume of fire, so far away.

Great Bay burned, enveloped in red and orange, black smoke obscuring the stars above. People continued to pile onto the coast, soot-stained and bloody. "My daughter," Laruto whispered, searching each of their faces. "Where is my daughter?"

One survivor fell to his knees before her. "My lady Laruto," he gasped, blood leaking from a garish slash in his forehead. "My lady Lulu, she . . ."

Laruto's breath caught in her throat, but the man shook his head. "The people of the Domain refused to leave," he whispered, though his words were as loud as if he'd shouted them. "My lady Lulu said she--she would rather die in her home than abandon it."

Lulu . . .

Zelda's eyes scalded, hot tears threatening to spill. But her feet were rooted to the spot, her gaze fixed on that ball of fire, where even now, Zoras were burning. Laruto stared across to the Bay, and Zelda might have thought she'd frozen if not for the sobs that left her throat, the whispers that were louder than death knells.

"Lulu."


Lulu stood, watching the people--her people--rush to prepare the boats.

The roads were impassable. Clock Town was isolated--it would fall soon. And after that, Snowhead, the great northern fortress, until the monsters reached them.

Great Bay.

Her breath shook only a bit as she released it. The chaos was unbearable. The only thing worse was the silence.

Her people were quiet; they ran to and fro while she stood on the old stage, shaped like an enormous clam. A feat of architecture, from an age long past. Their hurry was rushed on by the knowledge of what hunted them. Their silence was bought by the gold of the flames, encroaching ever nearer from the east.

Whispers bounced off the halls, echoing in the grand space. They reached her at length, and she paid them no mind--tucked them away into her own pocket of silence, deep in her headspace. Panic was no good.

One of her councilors leapt the stairs and faced her, his face speaking before he did. "Princess, you must leave now. They are almost upon us."

"I will stay."

Her words echoed in the hall, ricocheting until every one of the Domain's inhabitants had heard them, and turned to stare at her. The councilman himself hesitated, began to shake his head, but Lulu simply closed her eyes.

"This is our home. We will not abandon it."

A hand slipped into hers, and she looked up to see Mikau's dark blue eyes gaze down at her, filled with such love and admiration that she felt her throat close. At length, her councilor nodded, his shoulder slowly lowering. Around the hall, her people ceased their silent panicking, their expressions clearing in the way that impending death caused.

Impending death, yes, but by no other's choice but ours, Lulu considered. And as they glanced at one another, finding quiet resolve, even determination, they came to accept it.

Perhaps we will be known as cowards, Lulu thought. Perhaps history will write us off as weak. That is unimportant. What matters is how we feel, and what we choose.

Cowards we may be, but we have chosen this path. We will not step off it now.

We will not give in to fear.

The smoke came first. It invaded the hall, slowly, like a gray mist of poison that steadily grew larger. Darker. It obscured her people from Lulu's view, from where they watched from the windows, shared last moments with loved ones, or simply sat amongst family, clutching hands. In this last, final hour, her people had gone about life as they normally would. With quiet dignity.

Now, as their coughs grew in number and volume, Lulu felt her heart begin to crack.

She never wavered, on that stage, with Mikau by her side. Mikau, the love of my life. The ring she bore felt warm, and as the smoke thickened until it was a black smog, covering everything, she felt regret that she would never see the days he had promised her: of singing by the seaside, the sun bright on their faces, her voice for him and him alone.

Beside her, Mikau wavered. His breath grew heavy. Most of those in the hall had already fallen into sleep, the kind you don't wake up from. He coughed, once, twice.

Lulu's eyes watered, her hand tightening around his. She closed her eyes, biting her lip to stop its trembling. I won't waver.

One minute passed. The smoke thickened. Outside, she heard flames.

Another minute. Glass shattered.

A third.

A fourth, and the grip on her hand slackened.

Mikau fell. It was then that Lulu's tears fell with him, dripping on his shirt, wetting his cheeks. She looked down at him, waiting for his chest to rise, and when it never did, she swayed on her feet.

Blackness dotted her vision as smoke shoved itself down her throat, up her nose. Filling her lungs. She blinked, and suddenly she was on the ground, Mikau's face inches from hers. Her weakening breath stirred his hair.

I'm sorry.


Hours passed.

By dawn, the fire had gone out. As the sky lightened to a pale blue, silence like a plague, Zelda stared at the smoke still rising from the Domain. The weight on her shoulder shifted, and she glanced at the girl from the bridge.

Beside her, Laruto was still as a statue but for the weak rising and falling of her shoulders. She'd stood the entire time, her eyes never once leaving the Domain. Never once leaving Lulu.

It was custom, the survivors had whispered to Zelda. Laruto had not been the only one, after all. One by one, each of them had stood and fixed their tear-stained faces on that horizon. To stand vigil for our people.

For how long? Zelda had wondered.

The man had looked at her sadly. Until you can no longer.

Zelda wiped her face. Laruto was the only one still on her feet. Some had known their limits and taken their seats with heads bowed. Others had remained until they collapsed, a mixture of pain and exhaustion bringing them to their knees. Even then, they hadn't taken their eyes from the Domain.

The girl shifted again, lifting her head. Immediately, she felt for the space beside her, her brows drawing together when she found nothing but mud. Then she realized, and buried her face in Zelda's shoulder with a muffled whimper.

Zelda breathed slowly in, willing her eyes to stay dry. Behind her, she could hear people beginning to wake. Among them, Link and Ilayen coaxed them into carriages, hand made from the boats they'd arrived in.

She knew they'd stayed up all night, during the vigil, crafting those carriages. Makeshift they were, but better than having everyone walk. She knew they didn't need to. Knew they'd wanted to.

She'd let them.

Once Cremia had cried herself to sleep once more, Zelda gently laid her down, leaving her jacket as a pillow. She made her way to where Link and Ilayen quietly organized the carriages with the help of several survivors. Those who were already awake watched with broken gazes.

Link glanced up at Zelda's approach. "We need to leave soon," he said, glancing around. "We're too exposed. I don't want to lose anyone else."

His voice choked, and she knew he was remembering the death of Romani--a girl of twelve. Burned alive.

And his sister--Lulu.

Zelda forced back the bile and nodded. With the help of several others, she set about waking the remaining people. It took time, but the real challenge awaited.

Laruto.

Zelda decided to save her for last. She didn't know how the queen would react. As she bade an old man to the carriage, she caught the widening of his eyes and turned.

Laruto had turned from the coast and was helping organize. Her voice was so quiet, sometimes Zelda had to strain to hear. She took a step forward, but the old man squeezed her hand, shaking his head.

Zelda read the message in his deep blue eyes and grit her teeth, fighting back tears.

This is for her. She is still our queen--don't take that from her, as well.

She'd never. As much as she may have wanted to take responsibility--for everything--she knew Laruto was clinging to her role as queen, to the strength she found there. If she couldn't even lead her people in the midst of a tragedy, she would lose hope altogether.

Zelda couldn't allow that. So she stood back and helped where she could. By the time they were on the road, Cremia safely stowed in a carriage, Zelda was walking along Sanidin, who dutifully carried three children on his back. He tossed his head at her, as if to say, Three? Really?

She managed a smile, and he rolled his eyes.

The road back to the Hylian Domain was much slower; when they reached it and began the descent, a full two days had passed, and late afternoon on the third had fallen.

They were greeted with a messenger hawk. From the west.

Waker.

Zelda took the note from the hawk's leg and nearly screamed in frustration. Link took a look at her face. "What happened now?"

"Waker is under attack," she ground out, rage and frustration boiling in her veins. "Sea battles are waging right now, mostly bomb ships versus the Waker Navy; reports say the spawn site is the Forsaken Fortress."

Link swore, his voice hoarse.

"How much more?"

He turned to look at her. She met his gaze, feeling defeat crawl up her throat. "How much more can he take from us? Every time I think, 'This is it', he reaches in and just takes another handful away from me. He's tearing apart the empire bit by bit, and all I can do is watch."

She hated herself for the tears that fell--such weak, useless things, these tears were. If she could fight this war with them, she was sure she'd have won by now. Surely Ganondorf didn't waste time with them.

She stopped by the coast and stared out over the water as the Domain's survivors filed down the path, led by Ilayen. Right now, somewhere out there, a war was being fought. And here she stood. As useless as ever.

"How is it possible that no matter how much I do, it is never enough?" she asked quietly.

"It is."

She didn't turn. Link stepped closer, his hand warm on her bare arm. "It is enough. You may not see it, but the people do. They see how you rush to their aid, no matter what the circumstances are. They saw you fight that moblin. It was all they could talk about, last night. For hours, all Ilayen and I heard were stories of how the Empress came to save them--how she fought a bloody moblin for them."

"So it is enough," Link insisted, turning her face with a hand on her chin. "You are enough, because you fight for them. And they see it. Every day."

He pulled her in without waiting for an answer, holding her to his chest. "Please stop saying you're not enough," he whispered, and she heard the tears in his voice.

Zelda bit her lip and nodded against his chest. How was it he was always right?

Sniffing, she joined the procession's end. By the time they reached the council room, she found Laruto already there. With her two remaining daughters.

It was clear they had found out what happened. They both were white as a sheet, gold and blue eyes wide, bright. Even from across the room, as they caught her eye, their gazes begging her to tell them it wasn't true, Zelda had to turn her face away, shame filling her from head to toe.

And from across the dead-silent room, she heard their hearts break.

Without looking, she knew they'd fallen to their knees. Mipha's scream tore a hole through Zelda's soul, hot liquid wetting her face. If I'm supposedly enough, she thought furiously, then why is this happening right now?!

Link watched her, his own heart tearing in two with every broken noise his sisters made. He crossed the room and knelt with them, bowing his head, failure burning a hole right through him.

His second family. They had been his family, and yet, he couldn't save even one sister. He'd sworn, after he lost his parents and Dark, that he would protect the three sisters he'd found here. The mother.

Now, that mother hid her heartbreak from him, for the sake of her people. Now, his sisters huddled on their knees, their sobs sending shards of broken glass into him.

Hands pulled at him, and he knew without looking that it was Dark. He trembled, unable to look his brother in the face. He might have laughed at the sheer irony of it. He'd found one sibling, only to lose the other. The goddesses had a twisted sense of humor.

Beyond their circle of misery, voices were heard, quickly hushed. Again, hands pulled at Link, and this time he let them haul him to his feet. Across the room, others steered Zelda down the hall towards their rooms.

Her steps echoed ahead of him, echoing in his head. No one spoke; at the front of the column, his sisters entered their hall, steps fading. On his left, his and Zelda's door opened, and the servant stepped aside.

Zelda took a seat silently on the stool they'd provided and subjected herself to the servants' ministrations. Several wore white bands on their arms, denoting their statuses as healers. Link watched her, mind so strangely empty, as the healers stripped his uniform off to his boxers. Beneath his pants, the wound in his leg had bled profusely.

Link stared at that wound. He'd forgotten about it. He felt a slight sting as the healers applied disinfectant and cleaned it, along with all his others. When they got to the claw marks from the Lost Woods moblin, they let out a tiny tsk.

A grunt of pain, quickly muffled, made him look up. Zelda sat stiffly, her back ramrod straight. She was visibly trembling, biting her lip till it turned white.

Her ribs.

The memory came to him slowly: hearing her scream, seeing her fall, the moblin looming right above her. And for a second, it had flashed to that night, in the ruins of his old life, where it had been him on the ground, it had been his scream that echoed in his heart.

But then she'd rolled, and only an oncoming sword swing had kept Link from losing his head.

He felt dizzy. He took several deep breaths, like he'd taught himself in that cell in the castle, while the healers deftly bandaged them up. By the time they were done, he'd mastered himself and his grief enough that he was able to focus. Glancing at Zelda, who shrugged her jacket on, eyes somehow dull and sharp at the same time, he knew she'd done the same.

Before they were ushered out, they'd heard voices. Quickly hushed, but he hadn't recognized them. More resistance members, perhaps? As they entered the hall once more, things had calmed down. Like them, Mipha and her sister had swallowed their pain for the sake of what still needed to be done.

But he could see the shadows in their eyes; shadows that wouldn't soon fade. Link hadn't been involved in a war; strictly speaking, the Riots had been his first official conflict, even if he hadn't fought. But he'd seen the effects of it, had worked with men who had fought, who had killed. Some of the oldest had told stories of the long-ago war in Labrynna, and how soldiers had gone in cheerful and bright, and left bearing wounds that went deeper than skin and bone. Who'd never quite shed the darkness of war from their shoulders.

Link resisted shuddering, instead facing the newcomers with a raised chin. Zelda went to her place, at the head of the table, listening to Mipha's report.

"It's been approximately two weeks since the Takeover began," she was saying. Beside her, the newcomers listened intently. "Since then, we've lost about half the empire. Hyrule, Lorule, Labrynna, and Termina. Waker is currently under attack. Monsters have been reported to have spawned from the Forsaken Fortress."

She glanced at Zelda, who was watching the newcomers. She nodded vaguely. One was on the tall side, with red hair swept to the side in the lastest style, rounded spectacles, and a book tucked under his arm.

"Holodrum still stands, but barely. Monsters have spread aboveground, destroying what they can find, which isn't much. What worries me . . ."

Zelda's eyes flicked away from the dark-haired girl, who looked rather bored, if anything, and said, "What?"

Mipha frowned. "Mayor Ruul hasn't been seen in all that time. In fact," she added, squinting at the report, "no one has. There are no farmers in the Plains, and Horon City is all but empty." she raised her head, brows drawn together. "Holodrum is--"

"Not abandoned, assuredly," the male newcomer interrupted, fastidiously clearing his throat. With a nod to Mipha, who simply gave him a dead look, he bowed to Zelda. "Your Majesty. Deepest condolences. As to you, Queen Laruto, Princesses Mipha and Ruto," he added, bowing his head low to the three.

Laruto gave the barest dip of her chin, and Ruto turned her face away for a second. Mipha ignored him. Clearing his throat again, the man turned back to Zelda. "Ahem. As I was saying, Holodrum is not abandoned. They simply cannot have disappeared into thin air. But that is not what I have come here for. I understand your situation, Your Majesty, and I am sympathetic. But hiding underground does not seem to be working in your favor."

Dead silence followed. Zelda let loose a breath, leaning forward on the table. The healers had wrapped her ribs tightly, and so she barely felt them twinge as she inhaled slowly. Deeply.

The image of Great Bay burning flashed in her mind, as she knew it did in everyone else's. Hiding underground. Is that what you think we are doing here?

Across from her, Tetra was enraged. Zelda had a feeling only Ilayen's arm around her waist, his body partially blocking his fiancée's view, was keeping her from leaping the table and strangling this man. Even so, his own face was shadowed with fury as he glared.

Laruto let out a soft breath and settled into a chair, holding her hand to her head. Ruto murmured something in her ear, and her mother took the proffered hand, closing her eyes.

Zelda had to clench Link's hand for several moments before she felt safe to speak. "Sir. May I have your name?"

He hurried to bow. "Of course. Apologies, Majesty. I am Shad."

"Shad. You seem to have no qualms with insulting the victims of Ganondorf's latest atrocity. This seems to stem from your assumption that we have been huddled here since the beginning, watching our world burn from the safety of our caves."

Shad opened his mouth, but she held up a hand. "Shad, did you happen to pass by any towns on the way here? Did you see anyone? Did you happen to look across the border to Termina this past three days?"

"Did you know," Zelda said quietly into the silence, "that while you were under the assumption that we were hiding underground, we were in fact in Termina, fighting Ganondorf's army of monsters sent to destroy the nation? Did you know that we rode there the very moment we received the news, and arrived to a slaughter? That we did everything we could to save as many as we could, and yet still had to listen to our people die?"

She straightened and looked Shad dead in the eye, who now looked visibly uncomfortable. "Did you know that I watched a little girl burn to death?" Beside her, Link swallowed and closed his eyes.

"Did you know," and here her voice rose with every word, "that while we were supposedly hiding underground, we were, in reality, watching Great Bay burn to the ground, helpless to stop it?!"

Shad swallowed hard, and Zelda took a moment to collect herself. To her left, Laruto's shoulders shook so very slightly. "I have neither the time nor the patience for such blatant disrespect, Shad. If you have nothing helpful to add, then I suggest you find somewhere else to hide," she hissed venomously, unable to keep her temper in check any longer. "If that is what you came here to do, that is. We need people who will help us fight, not criticize our efforts thus far."

The only sound came from the scratch of Shad's boots on the floor as he shifted. "Indeed," he said, throat dry. He licked his lips. "Deepest apologies, and to you, Your Majesty." He bowed once again to Laruto. She turned her face away and nodded, a tiny dip of her chin. Her jaw worked furiously.

Shad swallowed again. "I meant no offence, Empress, truly. And I have come here with a purpose. I bear a warning, and an offer."

"Then why didn't you start with that?" Tetra demanded, aggression still making her posture stiff.

Shad ignored her, instead targeting his next words at Zelda. "The flying city of Skyloft has come under attack."


Oh, Shad.

So? Sadist? Let me know *sniggers like a gremlin*

REVIEW REPLIES.

To Oracle of Hylia: YEESSSS. I will SO be using this in the coming chapters haha. *commence mass edit*

Lmaoo I adore Dark, honestly. HAHA the sappiness :)

OOH IDEA. (You probs shouldnt have added that last bit HEHEHE) [jk]

To Queen Emily the Diligent: so close! Haha X)

To Ultimate blazer: hmmm perhaps?? Stop giving me ideas, y'all! I already have way too many WIPs XD

Lmaooo idk that comic, but HA. What's it gonna take for forgiveness?? Lol. You're welcome!

To Generala: HAHA yes! So—sadist?? Lmao given my reputation in this fic. . Probs. Yeah, trust me if I could find my orange bean then I'd def keep him inside haha. It's just a matter of him hanging around long enough for me to catch him / and he's also basically 100% a wildcat now, so if he even regocnizes me would be unlikely. wish he would just CHILL. But I have hope!

Aww baby Quancy. Yeah, you too!

To St James1: I. . . Did not realize that. / huh. Thank you, I'll be sure to go into the chap and edit that! And thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy it aside from that mistake!

To St James1 (again): Ah suspense, my old friend. I'm glad you enjoyed it! *bows* thank you, thank you.

All right y'all, try not to hate me too much for this one XD please review, you know I love it, and stay clean!! We can get through this. See you Thursday, hope you like this one!